Fact check: Mitt Romney health-care ad's claims are questionable

Mitt Romney

Editor's note: Today, the Poughkeepsie Journal begins a series of analyses about the 2012 elections. Some of the pieces, like the ones below, will focus on The Associated Press' look at the ads being used and allegations being made by the presidential candidates. Others will include analysis of the campaigns by USA TODAY in partnership with FactCheck.org. To see videos of these ads and others, go to http://www.usatoday.com /news/politics/political -ad-tracker/index.

KEY IMAGES: Former President Bill Clinton tells voters there's a clear choice in the coming election. President Barack Obama plans to enhance employment by investing in "innovation, education and job training," he says. Without mentioning Obama's GOP rival Mitt Romney by name, Clinton says the Republican plan is to cut taxes for the wealthy and roll back regulations. "That's what got us in trouble in the first place," Clinton says.

Clinton concludes by saying that rebuilding America only works if there is a strong middle class. "That's what happened when I was president. We need to keep going with his plan."

ANALYSIS: Clinton's presidency was marked by low unemployment, declining poverty rates and strong economic growth. In the latest Obama campaign ad, Clinton seeks to not only remind voters of those good times but to make the case that the country is more likely to prosper under Obama than Romney.

Clinton also seeks to blame Republicans for the global financial crisis that rocked the country during President George W. Bush's final 18 months in office and at the start of Obama's term. Economists have myriad theories for what contributed to the Great Recession. They frequently mention financial deregulation as a factor, but it's rare for them to cite the Bush-era tax cuts as a primary driver of a crisis that had its roots in lax lending standards and risky bank investments.

Romney indeed has called for cutting income tax rates, but he is proposing 20 percent rate cuts for everyone - not just the wealthiest. He also would eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividends for those with incomes below $200,000.

Clinton left office with favorability ratings in the mid-60s. Both camps are trying to incorporate that good will into their campaigns. Romney recently aired an ad showing Clinton signing legislation that overhauled the nation's welfare programs. He is accusing Obama of eroding the legislation's work requirements and indirectly trying to make the case that Obama is no Clinton when it comes to working with Republicans to achieve results.

The new ad is the Obama campaign's attempt to dispel for voters any confusion about which candidate Clinton thinks would be best for the economy.

WASHINGTON - TITLE: "Nothing's Free"

LENGTH: 30 Seconds

AIRING: The Mitt Romney campaign would not disclose where the ad is airing.

KEY IMAGES: "Some think 'Obamacare' is the same as free health care, but nothing is free," a male narrator says as a graphic of two pills forming an "equals" sign between the words "Obamacare" and "Free Health Care" fills the screen.

"Obama is raiding $716 billion from Medicare, changing the program forever, taxing wheelchairs and pacemakers, raising taxes on families making less than $120,000," a narrator says as a shot of an empty wheelchair and an aerial view of a suburban neighborhood appear on the screen.

"Free health care comes at a very high price," says the narrator. "The Romney-Ryan plan will restore Medicare funding and protect and strengthen the program for the next generation."

ANALYSIS: The ad oversimplifies President Barack Obama's health-care plan and Medicare, two big government programs that have emerged as key issues in the presidential race. Medicare in particular, a popular program serving nearly 50 million seniors and disabled people, has become a flashpoint since Romney named Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman and chairman of the House Budget Committee, as his running mate.

The ad asserts that "some" people think "Obamacare" is the same as free care, but doesn't bother to say who that might be. It then criticizes Obama for "raiding" money from Medicare to pay for the new expansion of health-care coverage that is his signature achievement.

Romney and Obama are seeking to stoke fears among older voters about each other's proposed Medicare changes, each charging the other would gut the program. In swing states with large elderly populations such as Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania, Medicare could be a key issue. Retirees often resist changing it.

The GOP ticket also has targeted Obama's health-care plan, which includes reductions in Medicare spending of $700 billion over 10 years. What Romney's ad doesn't mention is that those cuts come from payments to health-care providers, not from benefits to seniors. The ad also fails to note that the budget plan Ryan wrote included the same cut.

In turn, the Obama campaign has hammered away at Ryan's plan to shift future retirees into a system dominated by private insurance plans.

Democrats and Republicans have taken advantage of federal accounting rules that, on paper, allow Medicare savings spent for another purpose to also be credited to the program's trust fund for inpatient care. Obama's health-care law used Medicare cuts to pay for covering the uninsured. The Ryan budgets passed by the House kept those cuts and applied them to reducing the federal deficit.

The ad's claim that Obama's health-care law taxes wheelchairs is questionable. The tax applies to medical device makers, not consumers. It helps pay for the health-care overhaul's expansion of coverage to 30 million Americans. The tax is aimed at U.S. sales of medical devices used chiefly by doctors and hospitals, such as pacemakers and CT scan machines. Exempted are consumer items like eyeglasses and kits for many blood tests that people can perform on themselves, as well as other medical devices yet to be specified. The Obama administration says old-fashioned wheelchairs and the newer powered ones also will be exempt from the tax under proposed regulations being finalized by the IRS.

The ad's claim that Obama's plan raises taxes on families making less than $120,000 lacks important background. Starting in 2014, Obama's law requires most Americans to carry health insurance either through an employer, a government program or by buying their own policy. Exemptions exist for financial hardship, religious beliefs or membership in American Indian tribes.

The penalties will be collected by the Internal Revenue Service via tax returns, but the IRS will not have the authority to bring criminal charges or file liens against those who don't pay.

About 3 million of those who could be required to pay fines in 2016 will have incomes below $59,000 for individuals and $120,000 for families of four, Congressional Budget Office projections show. Penalties will be phased in starting in 2014. By 2016, those who must get insurance but don't will be fined $695 or 2.5 percent of their household income, whichever is greater.

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Fact check: Mitt Romney health-care ad's claims are questionable

Editor's note: Today, the Poughkeepsie Journal begins a series of analyses about the 2012 elections.